The sounds this synth makes remind me of the Novation Bass-Station. It's got a very strong tone, even in the higher octaves, and it's also sturdily built and very pretty (although the coloured discs on the pots come off easily). OK, so it's not going to make too many crazy noises (although it does nice rhythmic pulses and dives, again reminiscent of the Bass-Station and, albeit vaguely, the Korg MS-20) - it was never intended to make really mad noises, and to buy it for that would be a mistake. But for big, strong bass and great high-end tones that will cut through in a live situation, this synth will be very hard to beat. As much as I hate price-quoting, I paid £80 for mine with a couple of noisy switches, and have seen one completely mint in a shop for £100. Brilliant value, I love mine dearly, and anyway, who needs memories or midi for a truly analogue experience??

(I am looking for the white sheets of paper that fit over the pots to record the settings, if anyone would like to send/sell me some!)

Rating: 4 out of 5
posted Sunday-Jan-21-2001 at 14:37

Ian Cox
a hobbyist user
from Bristol, UK
writes:

I've had mine for about five years now. It cost me £90. I used it for some time in a space-rock band ala Hawkwind and now am intending to use it for my techno stuff. I think the variety of sounds this synth produces is cool, from straight bass to farout noises. Must get that Kenton midifit. One problem I have is that it cuts out unless I have the fine tune on max. Any clues?

Rating: 3 out of 5
posted Friday-Feb-11-2000 at 08:16

Jesper Ödemark
a hobbyist user
from Sweden
writes:

Recently bought one. It was fitted with Kenton midi-fit and I payed 110 £ including that which I soon found wasn't much compared to what the Synthetone could do =) Even though some ass-hole has robbed it of the original knobs in colour (for a Synthi?) my silver ones makes the sci-fi looks stronger... Kick ass little friend, you deserve a 4 since you've midied

Rating: 4 out of 5
posted Thursday-Jan-06-2000 at 05:42

Herb Legowitz
a professional user
from Iceland
writes:

i'm a member of a group called gusgus and between us we have 2x yamaha cs-30, 2x sh-101, 2x juno106, 2x juno2, a prophet vs, memorymoog, minimoog, arp odyssey 2800, arp 2600, arp axxe, 20 module doepher , korg ms-10, korg ms-20, korg trident mkII, korg delta, korg wavestation+wavest. ad, yamaha cs-10, yamaha dx-5 + dx-7, 2x roland jupiter4, akai ax60, korg m1r, emu emax, emu e4x, akai s3000 and countless other gear (synths i forgot + sound processors and the lot - we even have an ssl desk) and we have a jen SX1000! i would not put any other piece of gear before it (and not after it for that matter) but the 0 marks this great piece of gear is getting and the bad remarks people have been saying about it hurt me. when i read them i got a sting in my heart that only this little posting could cure. this synth shines at it's own game and that is a very fun game. a game all of us in gusgus love to play. it puts smiles in our hearts to hear this synth. if you want a minimoog bass get one but the minimoog can't do the same bass as the jen. the jen has a certain roughness to it's caracter which i think i have only found on korg ms synths. don't post negative things about this synth just because YOU don't like it. post positive things on the synths you like. my jen is fitted with a kenton cv/gate/filter mod and it will never leave my studio. i am interested in the audio in mod if someone can point me in the right direction. thank you, herb legowitz

Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Tuesday-Feb-16-1999 at 18:19

Johann H. Stoeten
a professional user
from Düsseldorf, Germany
writes:

Love or Hate it... I personally think it's worth every single penny (paid DM 100 German Marks) - Frequently use it for years now as Sample-Source and it never failed. Really love it's DoubleFat Pink-Noise. It's also an almost stupidly easy-to-understand Toy that I also often give it to Accoustics like Guitar-Players to get them a little insight into the Basics of Synthesizers (these of course tend to plug their Guitar into the SX's Filter Input using the Pink-Noise with a slooow PWmod-Filterswell and "space" away then ;) If you have enough room for this little nice piece of Wood/Metal and Plastics : Get One ... http://www.synthesized-dreams.com